OneDog847

It's a shame that the Sox weren't all over Kelenic last year.

The Sox were never prepared to be the highest bidder. They thought having Jay and Alonso was worth more to Manny Machado and his agent than millions and millions of dollars.

Why would the Sox need Alonso and Jay at all if they planned to be the highest bidder?

Yes sir. Why are the Sox just delaying the inevitable with him? Do they really think he will gain any trade value or are their financial concerns? Matt Skole has an OPS over 1000 at Charlotte. Bring him up.

They should have more guys battling for roster spots especially on the pitching side. It is kind of scary that they don't. They should most definitely give Matt Skole and Palka a shot over Alonso. They should also bring up one of Collins/Zavala to replace Castillo after Memorial Day weekend. Collins is 24 and Zavala is 25. Time to see what they can offer in the Show.

Possibly. I remember someone created a thread with a title along the lines of being embarrassed at the lengths the Sox FO was going to in pursuit of Manny. The post was not well received and full of "who cares" if I remember correctly. "The friends and family plan" was such a half baked scheme from the moment it was conceived. I don't need an MBA from Northwestern and a law degree from Harvard to know that an elite professional athlete is gonna take the $.

The Sox don't care about winning baseball games this year but can instead use roster spots as an audition for fringe type guys. Dudes like Alonso, Castillo, and Jay should not be on the roster at all. Give the playing time to younger guys with some potential upside.

MLB roster spots are supposed to be extremely valuable. The Sox FO doesn't seem to understand this and that is downright scary. Also, the general consensus of this board was in favor of the "friends and family" just a few short months ago.

I knew we would get a "leak" like this about the Sox interest a few months after the dust settled on the offseason. I call BS on any legit Sox interest in Harper. JR and company never had any intention of signing Harper/Machado unless they could get a Black Friday discount on the contract. The way they slow played the whole Machado negotiations is proof of that. JR threw out a low offer bid and just waited and waited until it was topped. The Sox didn't even counter San Diego's offer. Instead they walked away from the table because they were never serious to begin with.

Maybe replace Vaughn with CJ Abrams at this point?

Tanking is great for a GM's job security. Also, the great thing about rebuilding is that you can always just push the contention window out a couple years if things aren't going as planned. This offseason will be telling in regards to the FO's thoughts on competing. Will JR open the wallet for some impact free agents or will the Sox just roll with a top 5 bottom payroll and continue the tank?

I agree. Vaughn's college numbers are right up there with the likes of the Big Hurt and Kris Bryant. His bat is elite.

Madrigal didn't play yesterday. He is probably hurt like everyone else.

Minnesota's ownership opening up the wallet is a scary thought.

Yeah. Forgot about Walker. He is a legit prospect but hasn't looked so hot at High A. I'm only counting Madrigal on his draft pedigree at this point. He really needs to step it up. Gonna be extremely worried if he is still hitting below 275 in A ball come July.

You make your own luck to a certain degree. Sick and tired of the excuses.

Yeah. Something is rotten with the player development staff and/or scouting department. Robert is the only legit position player prospect at AA and Madrigal is the only legit guy at high A.

If the Sox win a pennant in 2021 I will say that Hahn and company did a great job. If the Sox are below 500 in September of 2020 then Hahn and company should be shit canned. 2020 will be year 4 of the rebuild. The Cubs made it all the way to the NLCS that year. The Sox should at least be fighting for the Central crown.

Can we trust the Sox FO to be competent enough to monitor both the ABs of Alonso and the innings pitched of Cashner?

It's a move the Sox should consider for sure. Do you think they would take on his salary though? Would someone like Forbes be enough? I'm assuming the Sox will want Baltimore to send some $ over in the trade.

I think with Shields it is more of an optics thing. Bringing him back would clearly signal to everyone that this rebuild is not going nearly as planned. Shields is also a painful reminder of the Tatis trade. A trade that Hahn and company would like to everyone to forget ever happened.

Not a terrible idea. Dude only has 33 k's in 42 innings pitched this year though. He also is making 8 million this year. I'm not sure if the Sox want to take on any more salary.

It's probably time to write off Stephens, Guerrero, and Adams. I don't think any of them have any future with the Sox whatsoever. Keuchel and Kimbrel ain't happening. The Sox are aiming for another top 10 pick this year not the playoffs.

So in this plan the sox are signing 5 veteran FA in the offseason? This seems way too similar to the offseason where the Sox signed Melky/LaRoche/Robertson. We all know how that turned out. The Sox should either pony up for elite talent like Cole, JD Martinez, and Rendon or not sign anyone at all and continue to tank for another 2-3 years while the young kids develop.

I was there today. Only enjoyable thing about the game was the weather. Banuelos and Ostich were throwing BP today. Neither of those guys will be in major league baseball this time next year.